12 Awesome Ways to Rock Some Guac (Besides Chips)

Sidney Fry

September 30, 2015

Guacamole is quite possibly my favorite sauce. No, not dip. Sauce. You see, I only eat dips in certain situations. Weekends. Parties. Football tailgates. Situations that involve 1) me being social and 2) me sharing a bowl with everyone. Don’t get me wrong – I love an excuse to get together with friends. But I don't love the limitations it puts on my guacamole intake. And that's just sad. At just 25 calories per tablespoon, we should all be consuming more of this creamy, subtly-nutty, heart-healthy fat-filled fruit.

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It's not the guacamole we should be worried about. It's all those calorie-dense chips we have to consume just to get our guac fix.

I think I have another solution.

The other day I stumbled upon this little tidbit: the Aztec name for guacamole was ahuacamolli, a name that derives from the Nahuatl words ahuacatl (avocado) and mulli (sauce), and literally translates to “avocado sauce.”

So there you have it. Once I embraced this delectable sauce as a sauce rather than a dip, well, let’s just say life got a lot tastier. Basically any recipe that calls for avocado can have guacamole instead. And why not? Guac is just a creamier, more-seasoned version of the fruit anyway, right? Here, a dozen ways with guacamole, and not a single chip necessary:

1. On a burger. Because sometimes the classic-condiment-trinity of ketchup, mustard, and mayo need a break.

6. As the sauce to your shrimp cocktail. Cocktail sauce has 150mg sodium per tablespoon. Guacamole has less than 50. Go green.

7. On a game day dog. A tablespoon of guacamole saves 250mg sodium over the standard pickle relish, mustard, and ketchup topper. See our roundup of healthier hot dogs.

8. With sushi. Everyone loves a little avo with sushi, right? Skip the soy sauce (you’ll save 500mg sodium per tablespoon), and dunk in guacamole instead. If you love your soy sauce as much as I do, just stir 1/2 teaspoon of the lower sodium variety into the guacamole for a salty-but-still-lighter-than-just-soy-sauce-kick.

9. With salmon. Because two tasty heart-healthy fats are better than one.